


Halloween 2020

by ChibiDashie



Series: The Magic Almanac [14]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Gen, Halloween, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:07:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27127660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiDashie/pseuds/ChibiDashie
Summary: Upon seeing that it is raining on Halloween in Mary's neighborhood, England cheers up a really upset Mary by teaching her how to carve a turnip within Friendship Manor's ballroom, all while the other nations are preparing to decorate the whole ballroom for the nation's annual Halloween party. America also joins in on the fun, only this time he has pumpkins. Wholesome fun ensues.
Relationships: America & England (Hetalia)
Series: The Magic Almanac [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1424335
Kudos: 1





	Halloween 2020

The sound of the rain pitter-pattered against the window Mary looked outside as well as the wind howling like wolves that blew the colorful leaves off the trees. Poor little Mary even had a costume all ready for the day that sat on her rocking chair, unused. All she could do was just cry, and those cries attracted the attention of someone from within Almanac that sat on her desk. Coming out of the pages of the magical book, he looked around to try and pinpoint the source of Mary's cries, only to see that she isn't too far away from him. Stepping out of the book and onto the solid ground, he placed his hand on Mary's shoulder.

"Mary dear, what's wrong?" He asked, lowering himself to her height.

"The weather said Halloween is cancelled, Mr. England!" Mary whined, "It's awful outside and I wanted to get candy! But the rain said no!" 

"Oh bother, it is quite bad outside," England replied, looking out the window. "The wind would whip you right away if you were to go outside or worse, the cold would make you sick, and I don't want to ever see a precious little girl like you getting sick!" 

"I wanna go trick-or-treating!" Mary pouted, crossing her arms as the tears continued to flow down her cheeks. "Mama got me a costume, too and I can't wear it." 

England walked over to the rocking chair, holding up the rather small costume. It was a cute little lion, complete with ears, paws, a fluffy brown mane, and a tail, perfect for scaring people with! 

"Oh, what a darling costume!" England exclaimed, "Your mother does know how to make you such an adorable and frightening beastie! Oh! That actually reminds me, Mary. Do you know what else people do on Halloween too?" 

Mary thought for a second, but remembered. "People carve pumpkins?" 

"Why, yes, of course! When I was your age, I used to do that but with a little something different. There will probably be a pumpkin in the Manor just for you; after all, we have been using real pumpkins as decoration!" 

"And then I can be a scary lion after we carve pumpkins?" 

"Oh, of course! We'll have a splendid party and you can scare everyone, and then you can get lots of sweets after! How does that sound?" 

Mary nodded excitedly, holding England's hand as he gathered up Mary's lion costume, all neatly folded and under his arm. Together, the two went into the Almanac and into Friendship Manor, where they saw the ballroom all decorated for the holiday. Fake spiders were climbing up the curved stairs that lead to the mezzanine the two stood upon. Mary held England's hand as tight as she can, fearing the spiders that she saw. 

"Don't worry Mary, those spiders won't come after you." England reassured her, "They're probably going after someone else...like America!" 

"He's silly!" Mary replied, giggling. "But I still love him very much!"

"And that is a good thing, Mary. Love is something very important that everyone should feel."

It felt like Mary was getting better just by being with her friends within the Almanac, watching them preparing the ballroom for Halloween. 

"Now Mary, stay here, alright?" England said, kneeling down to her. "I just need to grab some things really quickly. You can watch everyone decorate!" 

Mary sat down on the cold ballroom floor, watching her surroundings as England headed into Hall Europe to grab some stuff that he forgot to bring to Mary. Underneath the mezzanine, Mary noted America with a bundle of fake spiderwebs that he was decorating underneath the statue of Gaia, only to be tangled up in spiderwebs himself. 

"Oh, Mary!" America explained, struggling in the fake spiderweb trap he made himself, "A little help here?" 

"You're silly, Mr. America!" Mary laughed, doing her best to untangle him. It was surprisingly easy for Mary, considering all you had to do was pull off the thin, delicate material and stretch it out like play dough. 

"Silly?! Who ya calling silly?!" America picked up Mary, soon putting some of the fake spiderwebs on her hair. "Now look who's talking! _You're_ the silly one now!" 

"Me and Mr. England are going to carve pumpkins!" Mary exclaimed, suddenly switching the topic. 

"So that's why I heard you crying?" 

"It's raining on Halloween." 

"Aw, bummer! Hey, you can have fun with us! Pumpkin carving sounds really nice right about now! Besides, I brought in a whole lot of pumpkins today and I saved the biggest one just for you because after all, you deserve the best!" 

"Are you going to carve pumpkins too?"

"Me?! Of course! I love pumpkin carving! Hey, did you know that Britain doesn't even use pumpkins at all?"

"Really?" 

"Yeah, he's a weirdo! He uses-"

"Who is calling me a weirdo?" England interrupted, carrying a basket with carving equipment and some turnips.

"Oh! Speak of the Devil!" 

"You see Mary, when I was your age, I used to carve lots of turnips for the season." He went in his basket and picked up a turnip for Mary to hold. "See? It's a lot smaller and much harder than a pumpkin."

Mary began to feel the turnip in her little hands, noticing how different the texture is as well as how hard it was. Then as if she discovered something, she felt the little roots coming out of the turnip on the bottom.

"What's this Mr. England?" Mary asked, pointing at the roots of the turnip.

"Oh! Those are the roots. Turnips grow in the ground, just like carrots do."

"Yeah, no wonder you're such a weirdo with turnip carving," America snorted, "Why do that when you got a pumpkin that's much bigger anyways? At least those grow on top of the ground!" 

"Oh, shut it, you! It's my tradition that I've kept for a thousand years! I'm obliged to teach Mary something new that she never learned before." 

"I wanna carve my own turnip, too!" Mary exclaimed, as America put her back on the ballroom floor. 

"It might be a little dangerous, but I will gladly help you, and America can help you with a pumpkin."

"Oh don't worry dude, I got her covered! I got the biggest pumpkin I could find!" He grabbed a large pumpkin nearby him and held it up with one arm, as if it took no effort at all! Mary was excited seeing America's strength; she can't imagine if she were to lift up that pumpkin by herself! 

"Alright Mary, I have given you absolutely all means of creative freedom, just like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness!" America said, setting the pumpkin down next to her as well as a marker. "First, you gotta draw a face so we know what we're gonna cut! Got one in mind?" 

Mary took the black permanent marker, thinking as hard as she can on what she wants to make this pumpkin into. After all, there is no turning back once the knife goes in. With her creativity, all Mary could think of was a smiling face, for the first thing that she thought was her friends that keep her company, even during the loneliest of times. With the tip of the marker touching the pumpkin's smooth surface, Mary drew the one thing that universally meant her happiness.

"Oh! That is very cute!" England said, "That would have been very difficult to do on a turnip."

"I'm gonna name it Happy," Mary exclaimed, "Because it's happy!" 

"What a perfect name for a cute little pumpkin!" 

America soon held up a rather large steak knife, piercing a bit of the pumpkin to make the lid for the soon-to-be hollowed out gourd. 

"Hey Mary! Wanna see the really neat part about pumpkins?" America asked, "It might be a little disgusting, but I think it's really neat!" 

Mary scooted up closer to the pumpkin as America began to furiously cut the lid for the pumpkin. Soon, the smell hit Mary: pumpkin innards! She watched America lift the lid up from the stem, with seeds and guts falling all over the floor. This amused little Mary quite a bit, who began to pick up the seeds. 

"Wouldn't it be nice if we grew a pumpkin patch in the Manor Gardens, Mary?" 

"Yeah!" 

"Those big white things are the seeds." America picked a seed off and just like that, ate it. "Nothing beats fresh pumpkin seeds!" 

Mary though, was much more interested in the goopy guts within the pumpkin, sticking her little hands right in them, not caring whether her favorite red sweater gets dirty and sticky from the guts. America snorted upon seeing Mary playing with the guts, all while England was rather horrified. To Mary, this was just like playing with slime. 

"Mary! That isn't very ladylike, you know." England said, crossing his arms. "I might have to subject you to the bath if you keep this up." 

"But it's fun!" Mary protested, "I like the slimy things!" 

"Look at your sweater! There's pumpkin on it!" 

"Come on man, let Mary have a little fun, will ya?" America protested, soon scooping out some guts with his bare hands. "I'm gonna throw this at you!" 

Mary grabbed some guts, throwing them at America as a little surprise attack, seeds and all. Now suddenly became a playful battle of pumpkin innards, being thrown around. Mary though, preferred to poke around America with pumpkin innards; after all, she didn't really like throwing things, especially if it was at her friends. 

"Now Mary is really going to take a bath after this," England muttered, "A bath whether she likes it or not..."

Immediately, Mary stopped playing with the guts that she slightly threw towards America, dropping them on the cold, ballroom floor upon hearing the word "bath" come right out of England's mouth. 

"Don't worry Mary, we'll clean up when this is over!" America said, ruffling up Mary's hair, oblivious at the fact that he had guts and seeds on his hands.

"Bloody hell, America, you're spreading it onto her!" 

Mary stuck her fingers through her hair, plucking off the stringy pumpkin guts off. Her hair was now all messy, albeit a bit sticky from the pumpkin innards and seeds hanging off her bangs. 

"This is also probably why I prefer to carve turnips; a lot less mess yet very difficult to hollow out."

"I wanna carve a turnip too!" Mary said, looking up at England. 

"Of course! After your pumpkin, alright?" 

"Hey Mary!" America interrupted, "Did you know people eat pumpkin seeds too?"

"Really?"

"Yeah! Say aaaah!" 

Mary opened her mouth wide, tongue sticking out and all. He placed a single little pumpkin seed on her tongue, with the taste of pumpkin hitting her taste buds. The little girl, however, was quite a picky eater. She took out the seed from her mouth and put it back on the ground. 

"Don't like it?"

"It tastes funny."

"Mary dear, that isn't ladylike either, you know." England interjected, "If you don't like something, it's best to still eat it so nothing goes to waste. Understood?"

Mary nodded, pushing the seed that was in her mouth aside, forgetting about its very short adventure that ended abruptly. At this point, she just really wanted to carve the pumpkin. America was just about to finish getting all of the guts out at this point.

"Now Mary, this is super duper dangerous, so I'm gonna carve out the eyes and the mouth for you, alright?" America said, holding the knife improperly. "Watch and learn from the very best pumpkin carver ever!" 

He stuck the knife in the first eye of the pumpkin, making his way to the end for the piece to pop out. Then went the second eye, and the nose. Mary held the three pieces, feeling the damp, pumpkin flesh on her fingers, despite still having pumpkin guts and seeds on her. There was a feeling that Mary liked about the pumpkin pieces running through her fingers, but it's hard to put a finger on what it could be. Finally, the mouth piece popped out of the pumpkin, and everything was all set and done.

"Look! It's so cool, isn't it?" America said, holding up the hallowed-out gourd, "Now all we gotta do is to get a little tea light and....I forgot them." 

"Well, I just happen to have a whole bunch of tealights," England said as he stuck his hand in the basket, "I saved them for these turnips, but maybe it wouldn't hurt for a pumpkin." 

"Sweet! Got any matches?"

"I can't trust you with fire, especially around Mary." England then looked over at Mary, who was watching the grandfatherly nation place a tealight. "Now Mary, watch closely at the pumpkin. I'm going to put the stem back on and you look straight in Happy Pumpkin's face." 

As England placed the stem back on the hollowed-out gourd, Mary stared at the carved pumpkin, as if she were watching paint dry. All Mary can see was the darkness inside the gourd. Then, as if by magic, she noted a little flicker of light from the tealight that soon grew into a perfect little flame. 

"A light!" Mary exclaimed, seeing up close that this was indeed a real flame, "Is it a real fire?"

"Indeed!" England answered, "Still, I do not want you to ever touch it. It will still burn you and give you very bad booboos. Now, I would rather prefer to use my magic at night, so watch closely." 

Mary went back to staring at the now lit pumpkin, donning a friendly, unevenly goofy grin. She watched with anticipation on what was going to happen, with her hands and knees touching the cold, ballroom floor. Once again, as if by magic, the flame suddenly went out, with hardly any smoke to be seen. She caught her breath, wondering if she blew the candle out by accident! Mary was clapping excitedly at the little magic trick England performed. 

"Now, I believe now is my turn to show you how to carve a turnip, Mary." England sat down next to Mary, who held out the same turnip that Mary fiddled around with. "Do you notice anything about the turnip, Mary?" 

"It's very small," Mary answered, "And there's the thingies coming out too." 

"That's right! You know what else is different about the turnip?"

"What?" 

England then placed the turnip back on the ground, letting it roll around freely. "Not only are they round like pumpkins, but they can't stand up by themselves." He grabbed the turnip again in one of his hands, grabbing a knife with another hand. "Now, you simply just cut the bottom part of the turnip off and it will stand up just like a pumpkin!" 

With a quick stroke of his knife, the roots were chopped off the turnip. He then placed the turnip down on the floor, which stood upright instead of rolling all about. 

"See Mary? With the bottom chopped off, it can stand up all by itself!"

"It won't be a roly-poly turnip anymore!" 

"That's right! Now all I just need to do is to make a lid and hollow out the turnip, which is very, very difficult. I've become accustomed to it, so it will just be done in a jiffy!" 

Mary rested her arms on the pumpkin she and America made together, as England sat down right next to her, hollowing out the turnip with all of his might. She couldn't imagine how difficult it must be to hollow out a turnip; England just made it look really easy. Mary took the turnip's lid and put it on her head, as if it were a little hat.

"Oh! I see you're a turnip head now!" 

"Yeah!" 

"Such a silly little girl you are! I don't want to lose the lid, so I would like to have it back, please." 

Mary took the turnip lid off her head and gave it back to England.

"Now dear, see how the turnip is hollowed out already? I could cook something nice with the flesh that I hollowed out."

"I don't like vegetables..."

"Well, turnips are very good for you, Mary! They'll help you grow big and strong like other vegetables do! Mr. America here is very strong because he ate his vegetables. I'll cook something delicious just for you so you can try it!" 

"Yeah, about that...." America interrupted, soon leaning closer in Mary to whisper in his ear. "I'll get you chicken nuggets instead. Mr. England's cooking will make your cute little tummy hurt!" 

"Please don't tell me that you're telling Mary that my cooking is awful, America."

"Nah, just....er, telling her that vegetables will make her grow big and strong just like me!" 

"Good. Now Mary, here's the fun part of carving a turnip: I'm going to make a spooky, scary face!" 

Mary watched England cut through the turnip with a much smaller knife he had in his basket, slowly carving out a spooky, scary face. The eyes were nearly squinting, as if the turnip were screeching at something to scare it off. The mouth had a rather toothy grin, filled with lots of sharp teeth. 

"It's a scary turnip!" Mary exclaimed as England put the finishing touches on his turnip. 

"That's right!" England said, "My little turnip is all done. We'll light the them up when the moon rises tonight, alright? But first, I think you need to be all cleaned up! After all, I do have your Halloween costume, too."

"You're going to dress me up?!" 

"Of course! It is a time to dress up after all! Come along now, I need to get my costume all together as well." 

England picked up Mary's little lion costume, neatly folded up under one arm, and Mary herself with another arm supporting her bottom. Mary wrapped her arms around England, making sure to not fall off as the grandfatherly nation carried her towards his home in Hall Europe. Mary listened to him humming along as she watched the other nations decorate the ballroom. From her point of view, it looked nearly completed. It wasn't too long until Mary's view of the ballroom soon disappeared when England turned around, entering the portal-like door to his cozy cottage in the English countryside. 

There in the cottage, Mary noted the rustic atmosphere radiating throughout the cottage, from the floral wallpaper to a little framed picture England took of Mary over a fireplace. There was also a rocking chair near the fireplace, with a tea set that he nearly forgot to put away. 

"Now Mary, I think first thing's first is that you absolutely need a bath!" England declared, "You don't want to be a stinky little girl for Halloween, don't you?" 

For once, Mary wasn't being fussy about the bath; her hands and arms felt tacky after playing with pumpkin guts, not to mention that her sweater and pants needed to be cleaned up as well. 

"The pumpkin is making my hands feel weird," Mary said, noting how sticky and tacky her hands felt. "Bath time!" 

"Goodness, I'm surprised you're not being fussy! After the bath, I'll help you get all dressed up for the big day, alright?" 

One bath later, Mary was wrapped up in a nice, warm towel, as if she were wrapped up in kindness. A quick towel rub on Mary's hair immediately made her hair poof up! She could hardly see a thing, as her bangs covered her eyes. 

"Oh dear..." England said, scratching his head, "You're quite something, Mary." 

"Are you going to be gentle?" Mary asked, worried that England was going to be too rough on her hair. 

"I'll do my best, Mary. If I'm brushing you too hard, just tell me, alright?" 

Mary sat down on a little stool, still wrapped up in the soft, fuzzy towel that made her feel warm and cozy, as if she were being hugged by someone. England began to brush through her messy hair, doing his best to be as gentle as possible so he wouldn't hurt Mary by accident. The slow, gentle brushes on Mary's hair felt as if someone was petting her to calm her down from a meltdown. Soon enough, Mary was able to see again as her bangs were neatened up, just as England began to use a hairdryer to wick off the excess moisture that lingered in her hair. 

"A nice blow of a hairdryer makes you nice and cozy!" England said, "Just like sitting by the fireplace." 

Some more brushing later, and Mary was all cleaned up and ready for getting dressed up as a cute little lion. Poor little Mary couldn't do much by herself, but was assisted by England as he helped her get her costume on. The costume was almost like a onesie, with the only assistance Mary needed was to button up the maned hood and to zipper up the bodice. Mary got her fluffy paws on her hands and feet with no problem, ready to pounce on whoever she sees. 

"Alright Mary, can you let out a roar for me?" 

"Raaaah!" 

"Atta girl! You're ready to scare the other nations today?" 

"Yeah!" 

"I'll be right out, I just need to get my costume on. You can go on to see everyone else, alright?"

Mary nodded and ran out from England's cottage into Hall Europe, sneaking her way around towards the ballroom. It appeared from a distance that the festivities have just begun, so Mary had to make her moves really stealthily, just like a real lion. She crawled on all fours, slowly sneaking around until she got to the point where Hall Europe and the Ballroom met together, searching for her first victim. It wasn't too long until Mary found America again, this time all dressed up for the occasion. She slowly snuck up to him, crawling on all fours towards his ankles all while trying to not let him notice or have anyone trip over her. Thankfully the first part is the easiest; the latter is quite difficult due to the amount of nations in the ballroom already. It was already difficult to crawl between the legs of other nations, but eventually Mary reached America's ankles without a single injury. Quickly, Mary grabbed America's ankles, letting out a fearsome roar that would strike fear in even the strongest nations. 

"Woah there, lil lion!" America exclaimed, picking Mary up off the ground, "You really got me there!" 

"Meow!" Mary giggled, "I'm a kitty cat!" 

"I don't think a lion is exactly a cat, but you're quite a scary lil fella!" 

"I think lions are really cute!" 

"Just like you!" He then poked Mary's little button nose, as the young child began to poke the brotherly nation with her paws, being careful not to smudge up his glasses. He slowly got down on his knees, as if Mary were really a ferocious beast attacking him. 

"Oh my god, help! I'm being eaten by a liiiion!" 

Mary was undoubtedly, having quite a ball playing with America as he laid helplessly on the cold, ballroom floor, as Mary sat on his chest, poking his face with her plush paws. 

"Now, what was all the hubbub going on?" 

Mary and America looked around, seeing that England stood over the two, this time in a costume of his own. His legs became just like an ungulate, with mighty hooves that touched the ground. He also had little goat horns and ears on his head and a little goat tail on his bottom that was nearly covered up by a tunic on his torso. 

"Mr. England!" Mary exclaimed, "You're fuzzy now!" 

"Well Mary, I am a faun after all," England explained, "It's a half goat, half man! Now I'm much taller than I ever was because of these little hooves." 

"I'm gonna be a kitty cat! Meow!" 

"Well, lions are cats after all, my dear Mary. Come now, the festivities are just starting!" 

"Aw come on, dude!" America complained, "Lions are lions, not cats!"

For the rest of the night, Mary was having quite a ball with her friends under the moonlight that shone in the ballroom. Many loved her little lion costume as many of the nations took pictures of her as a memory to look back on the future. Even as a little lion, many of the nations pretended that they were quaking in fear of such a ferocious little beast. Despite America claiming that a lion is absolutely not a cat, his argument was immediately squashed by the squabble of nations having the time of their life during the party. Mary ended up with lots of candy and snacks that would last her for many months, with hardly a trick up the nation's sleeves. She was slowly getting exhausted from fun and plenty of sugar, but still wanted to see something that she wouldn't stop thinking about from the whole night. As the ballroom grew quiet from many of the nations departing, Mary sat by where her pumpkin and England's turnip stood and stared; not a single sign of light inside that gave it life. 

"I wanna see you light up again for the night," Mary said to the pumpkin and the turnip, "Just one last time?" 

As if the pumpkin and turnip obeyed Mary's command, a small flame grew in both that lit up the hollowed-out gourd and the turnip. The young child looked around to see what kind of magic let Mary light up the tealights inside, only to see England out of his faun costume and in his typical grandfather clothes, standing next to her. 

"Did you have a lovely Halloween, Mary?" England asked, as he sat down next to her on the floor.

"Yeah!" Mary answered back, "This is the best Halloween ever!"

"I'm so glad. I knew how upset you were because it was raining in your neighborhood, but you did get lots of candy in the end and you learned how to make a pumpkin all on your own; not to mention that you also learned how to carve a turnip, too!" 

"And I'm a cute lion today!" 

"That's right, Mary! I did get plenty of pictures to show your Mother and Father of you having fun. They'll be glad you had fun on such a crummy day." 

"You know what else I'm gonna do?"

"What?"

"I'm gonna share my candy with all of my friends, like you and all of my friends from school!" 

"Aw, that's awfully sweet. I'll decline for now, as I'm trying to cut back on my sweets. After all, too much sweets will make your tummy hurt, and I don't want to see your tummy hurting."

"I love you, Mr. England." Mary crawled over to the grandfatherly nation, hugging him as she was on her knees.

"I love you too, dear."


End file.
